1. Field
Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for providing a network the capabilities of a user equipment (UE), thereby improving system performance.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, data, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple UE devices. Each UE communicates with one or more base stations, such as a Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), or other access point, via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the UEs, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the UEs to the base stations. This communication link may be established via a single-in-single-out, multiple-in-single-out or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
UEs can be capable of operating in multiple modes to communicate with wireless networks using different radio access technologies (RAT). For example, a UE can be equipped to communicate in a third generation (3G) and a fourth generation (4G) network. In one specific example, a UE can be capable of communicating in LTE, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), etc. In this example, the UE is able to process signals from the various networks, which can include using hardware designed for each RAT or adapting hardware to comply with each RAT based on the scenario. The UE, however, may not always have the opportunity to notify the network that it supports the RAT or of other related capabilities.
Thus, aspects of this apparatus and method include providing a network the capabilities of a UE, thereby improving system performance.